Housing affordability crisis getting worse for seniors

BURNABY – The affordability crisis is hitting seniors in metro Vancouver especially hard, and it’s getting worse, say the New Democrat Official Opposition.

A recent report on affordability in metro Vancouver showed that there was a 38-per-cent increase in the number of seniors waiting for affordable housing between 2012 and 2016, all of this while the BC government claimed to be taking action.

“Seniors are facing long waits for basic, affordable housing,” said opposition spokesperson for seniors, Selina Robinson. “They’re living with family members or left for too long in temporary accommodations.

“The BC government simply hasn’t taken the appropriate steps to ensure that seniors have a home of their own.”

Robinson met with the media to detail the story of Linda Brunden, a Burnaby senior who moved into a temporary residence in August of 2015 and has been on the housing registry ever since.

“In March, there were more than 3,500 seniors like Linda on the housing registry,” said Robinson. “She lost her job because the business she was working for was sold, and as a result, she wound up homeless and lived on the street for two weeks.

“She called BC211, and was told to go to an emergency shelter in the downtown eastside of Vancouver. She eventually found temporary housing, meant to last three to six months, and has been there more than a year.

“Linda is the embodiment of the failure of the BC government to address the serious housing affordability crisis.”